


At Parting

by IseliaDragonwill



Series: World of Ruin AU [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Ardyn YesCon Week, Break Up, Emotional Hurt, Forbidden Love, M/M, Mentioned Noctis Lucis Caelum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 01:56:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17499395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IseliaDragonwill/pseuds/IseliaDragonwill
Summary: Ten years have passed and the return of the Chosen King is imminent. Such marks a return to the expected way of things and a goodbye to what almost was.





	At Parting

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for Day 4 of Ardyn Yescon week from last year. This was going to be worked into a longer fic about Ardyn and Ignis's developing "relationship" (because let's be real, neither of them will admit to calling it that) during the World of Ruin, but after having it on the shelf for a year, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Oh well, shit happens, right? Instead of a larger fic, I might just gather some highlights and turn them into a series.
> 
> Or maybe this will be the only thing that ever gets uploaded. Who knows?
> 
> Anyways, I still am quite fond of this fic, even if break-up stories aren't generally my thing. Comments and kudos are love <3

For some time, Ignis had been able to brush aside the ever-present thrum of magic in his chest, his sole tether to his King, pulsing in time with the ebb and flow of guilt he felt from his foolish heart's transgressions. Yet, as it grew stronger and began to assert itself with a renewed clarity, a contrast to the weak and nebulous fog that had accompanied him for the last ten years, he became increasingly aware that Noctis's return was imminent. When the day finally came–with little fanfare from the desecrated world at large, unaware that dawn would soon be upon them–the wall holding back Ignis's emotions endured its final fracture before it crumbled and fell. It wasn't long before the anticipation that had led up to that moment spilled over in a tide that was equal parts longing, fear, and shame.

“You knew this day would come.”

Ignis turned his attention from the growing unease he felt towards the too-near future, to the familiar weight of a head pillowed in his lap, wine tresses flowing through the spaces between fingers that idly traced paths from crown to nape. How was it that such a languid drawl could always cut through his thoughts like the keenest of blades? Another oddity, another contradiction, that would no doubt go unexplained. 

“Can you feel it too?”

Ardyn nodded, his nose brushing the exposed skin below Ignis’s navel. “The game was fun while it lasted, but it must come to an end. Such is the way of things.” 

“Game?” The question came out snappier than Ignis had meant it to; something about the admission of his supposed reality striking a realization of how utterly false it actually was. “After all this time, you still call it that?”

“And what would you have me call it?” Ardyn asked, peering up at Ignis in the darkness with golden eyes that would remain unseen. What he wouldn’t give, even if for just this moment, to have Ignis meet and return his gaze, but his blindness was a consequence of Ardyn’s lack of foresight all those years ago when he had foolishly threatened the Chosen King at the Tidemother’s altar. He cursed himself. If only he had known what he would one day long for. 

“We'd be fools not to acknowledge that our true intentions lay elsewhere. You know that as well as I.”

Ignis's fingers stilled, his lips drawing into a thin line. Of course, Ardyn was right. Still, it didn’t explain the dull ache he felt in his chest, the one he had managed to keep at bay for so long. Over time it had transformed from the specter of an emotion–fleeting and ethereal–to a tangible presence that slowly but surely rooted itself in the forefront of his heart, right alongside the love for Noctis that had existed there for much of his life. The mere fact of it made him wary to examine those feelings too closely, lest it reveal a truth he was not now and may not ever be ready to accept. 

The springs of the old mattress protested as Ardyn sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Something foreign stirred within the vacant space in his chest, preventing him from getting to his feet and walking out the door; something that, by all means, should have been dead and buried after years of disuse and suffered disappointments. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt more fear towards what lay secreted away in his heart, than the daemons that ravaged his body. 

“Next we meet will be on the field of battle. We both have our roles to uphold, appointments to keep. I trust you won't fail in yours.” Try as he might and knowing how futile it was, the dim light that comprised what was left of his humanity clung fierce enough to hope that he hesitated on the precipice between immortality and death, waiting to see what his wavering flame would do. 

“How can you just…?” The words flared on Ignis’s tongue before fading away to smoke and ashes. He sighed, balling his hands into fists and clutching the bedsheets without even a shadow of the tenderness with which they had combed through burgundy locks just moments before. “Never mind. It would be best if you left.”

His breath caught in his throat. The rejection wasn’t unexpected, but Ardyn couldn’t help but be surprised at the ache he felt. It seemed that even after two thousand years of a Scourge-ridden existence such as his, some things were never truly forgotten. He closed his eyes, feeling a melancholy smile tug at the corners of his lips as he finally got to his feet and grabbed his coat and hat from the chair beside the bed. “I won't begrudge you for what needs to be done.”

Against his better judgment, he stole one last glance over his shoulder at the man he had spent the better part of the last ten years with. Ignis was leaning against the headboard, eyes unfocused but seemingly staring through the dirt-streaked window, reminiscent of when Ardyn had first begun watching him so long ago, right down to the glimmer of tears in the darkness. What had started as an excuse to toy with he Chosen King’s most loyal companion had morphed into a tenuous expression of what Ardyn might have dared to call love before his betrayal and subsequent fall from grace. 

And now, it was that which he refused to call love that carried his footsteps back to the bed one last time. He gently tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of Ignis's neck as he pressed his lips to his forehead, letting himself be consumed by the scent of roasted coffee and sandalwood in a silent wish that he might take it to his grave. “Goodbye, my dear.”

Ignis listened; each step that Ardyn took away from him, another twist of the knife in his chest. He refused to turn his head to follow the sound. From the window, he almost thought he could feel the caress of moonlight upon his cheek–a sign of hope that Noctis would be here again with him soon. 

It didn’t soothe the pain he felt. Noctis was coming back to him, only to set off to meet the reaper on his throne. On that day he would lose not only Noctis, the man he had been in love with since he could remember, but Ardyn too, the man he had grown to care for and maybe even…

He curled around the cool spot on the bed where Ardyn had lain and wept.

 

Ardyn did not look back again as he left through the front door. Once outside, he leaned against the weathered wood that separated him from Ignis and tried to ignore how his chest tightened around his heart, how hard it was to draw a simple breath.

“It’s for the best.” Ardyn murmured to no one in particular, eyes roving over the dusty ground. “Immortality loses its luster after so long...and it has been so long.” He turned his gaze to the moonless sky–swallowed by miasma and scourge–musing on the lack of light. Fitting. 

“Soon dear Noctis, we will meet where this all began. Then I can finally be free of this curse.” 

His mind implored his heart to agree, but it would only think of the man behind the closed door who it wanted so much to live for, who it wished would have asked him to stay despite being so weary of life. It despaired at knowing that the one destined to finally end his life was the very same man that Ignis had truly waited for all along. Such a cruel twist of fate it was.

And then...what was left of the light within him went out. Ardyn pushed off of the door and sauntered down the street with a smirk on his lips and ichor painting his cheeks, into the everlasting night. 

“After all, what good is a world that only ever lets you down?”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://iseliadragonwill.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FallenIsel)!
> 
> I'm not as active on Tumblr anymore because of the "adult content" fiasco, but I'm on [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/iseliadragonwill) now!


End file.
